Senegal became the first African nation in history to score five goals in a single FIFA World Cup match, routing Iraq 5-0 at Toronto Stadium on Friday to keep their knockout-stage hopes alive.
The Teranga Lions, who entered their final Group I fixture with zero points from their opening two games, delivered a masterclass in clinical attacking football, heavily aided by an early red card for Iraq.
Habib Diarra scored the first goal of the match after just four minutes, bundling the ball home following a well-delivered corner kick. Iraq’s concern became even grimmer in the 13th minute when Rebin Sulaka was sent off following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review for an expulsion-worthy challenge, leaving his side to play the remaining 77 minutes with 10 men.
Despite dominating possession, Senegal had to wait until the second half to truly leverage their numerical advantage. Ismaila Sarr doubled the lead in the 56th minute with a composed finish. Then three minutes later, substitute Pape Gueye made it 3-0. Gueye was not done, turning in another brilliant strike in the 71st minute to grab his brace and put Senegal four goals up.
Iliman Ndiaye sealed the historic 5-0 victory in the 82nd minute. The image-redeeming victory moved Senegal to third place in Group I with three points and a +2 goal difference, a standing that gives them a reasonable chance to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams into the Round of 32.
In the other Group I clash, France coasted to a 4-1 victory over Norway at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough to claim the top spot in the group with a perfect record of nine points.
The headline act belonged to Ousmane Dembélé, who ran riot in the first half by netting a stunning hat-trick. The Paris Saint-Germain winger opened the scoring in the seventh minute following a brilliant pass from Kylian Mbappé. He doubled the advantage in the 20th minute with another precise finish.
Norway briefly threatened a comeback when Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back in the 21st minute, catching French goalkeeper Mike Maignan off guard. However, Dembélé restored France’s two-goal cushion just eleven minutes later, completing his hat-trick in the 32nd minute to make it 3-1 going into the break.
Les Bleus added a fourth in the second half to cap off a dominant display, ensuring they head into the knockout rounds full of confidence alongside the Norwegians, who also progressed as group runners-up.
